6/27/2013

2) Yes, I
hit a pedestrian. But that it was his fault is proofed by the fact that it happens with
him 4 times before!

3) I cannot
be at fault of this accident. That young girl in miniskirt walking on the sidewalk has to be blamed! If you are a man, this explanation has
to be enough and if you are a woman, you will not understand it anyhow!

4) I saw
that the pedestrian does not know which way to go, and I drove over him.

5) I was driving
the car. Suddenly the driver in front of me began to flash at once both indicators. I could not understand which way he will turn and
crashed into him.

6/14/2013

6/12/2013

Alexandr Rodchenko:REVOLUTION IN PHOTOGRAPHY

Alexandr Rodchenko was one of the most important innovators in photography, a adventurous artist who was active in the young Soviet Union and remained faithful to his work even when the disillusionment took over.In Vienna there is now a great show dedicated to him.

"Every new sight triggers a revolution," wrote Aleksandr Rodchenko in 1920. He was then 29 years old, the Russian revolution just three years young. Rodchenko had already made a name for himself​​as futurist painter, as an activist and especially as a graphic artist, his collages for posters, book covers and newspaper titles where celebrating the social upheaval of the early Soviet Union.

In photography he saw the best way to criticism the old world and bring the messages of a new and better one. With photography he was able to tranlate the impetuous demands of Russian Constructivism - technical language of form, geometric abstractions, radical rejection of romanticism or naturalism - but also his lyrical ambitions into black and white.

Soon he administered his own photographs to his collages, began an extensive series of portrait photoagraphs - his friend Vladimir Mayakovsky was tight from the start his model - and developed his own form of pictural language, which became a major contributor in the history of photography.

This chapter is adressed in the exhibition „Alexander Rodchenko - Revolution der Fotografie“ in der Westlicht Gallery in Vienna. With about 200 works, nearly all vintage silver gelatin prints and collages, which almost goes beyond the dimensions of the Gallery in the Vienna Westbahnstraße, it is nevertheless just a part of what was shown some years ago in the Moscow House of Photography and then toured several major museums.

6/09/2013

I just want to say...THE AUSTRIAN WAY: IF IT GET‘S TOUGH - RUN AWAY

Austrian UN Forces at the Golan

Source: BMfLV (Austrian MOD)

Since 1974 there where Austrian soldiers based at the the socalled „Alpha Line“ at the Golan as part of the UNDOF, the United Nations Peace Keeping Forces, seperating Syrian and Israely troops there. For 40 years hundrets of young Austrians used this oportunity to earn a lot of money (currently the basic salary for enlisted personnel is € 3,850,- after tax per month - quite a lot of money for a 19 year old...). And for 40 years the Austrian government presented this engagement as an important part of the Austrian neutrality and as an effort for a peacefull world...

Now the civil war in Syria has reached the Golan region, rebell groups and the loyal syrian army are fighting there. So for the first time in the 40-years-engagement the Austrian troops encounted some (by quite unlikely) danger from this fighting. And within hours the Austrian government decided to pull out the Austrian troops, leaving the Alpha Line virtually unprotected.

Maybe somehow I have missunderstood the mission of UN Peace Keeping Forces. But shouldn‘t the mission be to be exactly on the ground when it gets though? Keeping the peace is easy when there is (at least some kind) of peace. What use do Peace Keeping Forces have when they run away in the case of troubles?

The Austrian soldiers stationed at the Golan are either volunteers or professionals, everybody has to know about the risk when he volunteers to go. So - at least for me - the calling back the troops from the Golan is just another proof for the Austrian way of life: Cowardice. All keepers and curtains. If it get‘s tough, run away...

6/08/2013

DYING TWICE A DAY...

I was looking for event to test a new lens, the Sigma 120-400mm (and for something that my 5-year old boy would enjoy too ;-) and discovered by pure chance an advertising for the reenact of the Battle of Austerlitz from 1805 at a castle in the Waldviertel Region of Lower Austria. Arriving there we where in the middle of the training of attacks and counterattacks, of dramatic dying sequences and unsystematic marches in the inner bailey. The performance itself then was far more realistic (aside of the fact that there where only about 50 or say soldiers compared with the 72,000 French soldiers and the 85,000 soldiers of the Russian and Austrian Army at the real battle).

In contemplation of the battle...

Then the battle started. And it became noise and the "battlefield" was soon filled with smoke...

The first casualties...

Then the battle was over. The smoke cleared away. And the KIA's stood up, saluted and marched away to the camp to get some refreshment. Three hours later there was the repetition of the battle...

The exhibitions at the ICP where (almost) perfect. Almost - because there was so much information beside the pictures one can hardly assimilate all the informations...

There where two exhibitions: "We Went Back: Photographs from Europe 1933–1956 by Chim"*) and "Roman Vishniac Rediscovered"**)

Both exhibitions featured a lot of additional informations on the photographers and the envirenment the created their work. There was amply room for the hanging and a perfect lighting.

At the ICP, New York

At the ICP, New York

At the ICP, New York

Not long after my visit to New York City i returned to Moscow. And there again I found at the Lumiere brothers Center for Photographya very good exhibition (actually there have been three, but the other two I have already seen at a earlier visit).

At the Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography, Moscow

Again very good pictures in a convenient environment. A lot of informations about the photographer and his work. If you are in Moscow in the next three weeks I highly recommend to visit the Lumiere Brothers Gallery - the exhibition is running until June 30.

...AND THE BAD.

A big disappointment was the exhibition at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, MA, "East 100th Street" by Bruce Davidson. Bare walls, bad lighting, no informations about the photographer, the background... One should expect something much better then this from a highly prestigious museum like the MFA.

At the MFA, Boston, MA

A famous name and some photographs (even if they may be really good) don't make a good exhibitions.

*) David Seymour (born Dawid Szymin, 1911-1956), or Chim (pronounced shim, an abbreviation of the surname "Szymin"), was a Polish photographer and photojournalistknown for his images from the Spanish Civil War, for co-founding Magnum Photos with Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa and George Rodger, and for his project "Children of War" with UNICEF that captured the plight of children in the aftermath of WWII He became president of Magnum after Capa's death in 1954 and held this post until his own death in 1956 by Egyptian machine-gun fire in the aftermath of the Suez crisis.

**)Roman Vishniac (1897-1990) was a Russian-American photographer, best known for capturing on film the culture of Jews in Central and Eastern Europe before the Shoa.

6/04/2013

Вторая Российская проблема или LUCK AS THE ONLY WAY TO LIVE IN RUSSIA...:)

My parents are living in nice small village not far away from Moscow.

During spring snow-melt the road was broken. But luckily I know the guy who is responsible for roads in village municipality. So lucky me - I went to him and asked him to maintain it a little... And he wishing all the best, brought next day 8 cars of perfect building rubble (that's what we are using in Russia to build roads usually...)

But! Next day after next day the grader was broken... So already for a month and a half I am enjoying my luck...

About week ago a huge poplar tree fell down during the storm, but (pure luck again) - exactly on the power pole. The power pole s affixed better now and the wires luckily don't contact... Don't have a photo of the tree - it was not only my luck - somebody got quite nice free of charge firewood...

Just called my mother. After my thankful (for rubble and free of charge wood) official mail to the administration with below photo attached they kindly asked her to come to the administration, promised a lot of new nice rubble for our road, and invited her to participate in municipality election campaign...

This is what this blog is about. Commonalities and differences. Traveling through the world of art to chronicle

our impressions. Presenting our own work.

Enjoy and thank you for staying with us!

THE AUTHORS

Victoria Dematté

And what do we need?

Just light in the window. And what we dream about?

That the war is over.And where are we going?

Where the sun shines…

Chris Dematté

Since I got my first camera (a Kodak Instamatic) I am addicted to taking pictures. So it was quite obvious that I became a photographer. Beeing it now for about 30 years I am still with the great photographer Imogen Cunningham: "Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I'm going to take tomorrow".

”Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”